The woman, who has not been named, is suing the internet giant for 600,000 Yen (£4,588) claiming the images caused her psychological distress, according to Japan's Mainichi newspaper.

The first hearing in the case was held this week in the southern city of Fukuoka.

"I was overwhelmed with anxiety that I might be the target of a sex crime," the woman told a district court. "It caused me to lose my job and I had to change my residence."

According to the suit, the woman first saw the photo on Google this spring when she did a search for her own apartment, where she lived alone.

The suit claims her existing obsessive-compulsive disorder was worsened by the anxiety brought on by the photo, as she feared that everything she was doing throughout the day was being secretly recorded.

The woman was subsequently fired from her job at a local hospital and moved to a new apartment.

The newspaper said Google officials were looking into the facts of the case. The woman claims the image of her underwear was removed at around the same time she filed the suit in October.

"I could understand if it was just a picture of the outside of the apartment, but showing a person's underwear hanging outside is absolutely wrong," the woman said.